Organized and founded by George Pullman in 1867, The Pullman Palace Car Company manufactured sleeping cars for the railroad. Pullman created a city named after him to house his employees. Pullman City was on a 3,000-acre lot outside of Chicago; a place that workers were required to live. Employees were also expected to accept pay cuts and not complain about a hard labor. At Pullman City, workers were charged to use the library and even the church. During 1983, a depression resulted in wage cuts to 25% but the rates Pullman was charging in his city did not back down. Workers were consequently falling into debt and it was taken further from their paycheck.
Conditions for the employees of Pullman Palace Car Company hit a pinnacle and on May 11, 1894, three thousand workers went on a “wildcat” strike, without permission from their union. Many were part of the American Railroad Union (founded by Eugene Debs) and refused trains to move if there was a Pullman car attached to it. The railroads formed the General Managers Association in retaliation, announcing the workers could not dictate hiring, firing or finances as an attempt to end the strike. Deb’s union was not deterred and fought back by claiming if a switchman were fired because he refused to move a Pullman, all employees would resign. The Pullman Strike kept growing and by June 29, fifty thousand men quit their jobs and crowds of people who supported the strike, stopped trains as well.
The federal government finally intervened and Debs was ordered to stop interfering with trains travelling with mail. Under Grover Cleveland, the Army was called to stop the strikers and violence broke out across the railroad. Thirty people were killed as a response to the riot and $80 million worth of damage but the strike ended. The American Railroad Union fizzled and Eugene Debs was sentenced to prison.
Organized and founded by George Pullman in 1867, The Pullman Palace Car Company manufactured sleeping cars for the railroad. Pullman created a city named after him to house his employees. Pullman City was on a 3,000-acre lot outside of Chicago; a place that workers were required to live. Employees were also expected to accept pay cuts and not complain about a hard labor. At Pullman City, workers were charged to use the library and even the church. During 1983, a depression resulted in wage cuts to 25% but the rates Pullman was charging in his city did not back down. Workers were consequently falling into debt and it was taken further from their paycheck.
Conditions for the employees of Pullman Palace Car Company hit a pinnacle and on May 11, 1894, three thousand workers went on a “wildcat” strike, without permission from their union. Many were part of the American Railroad Union (founded by Eugene Debs) and refused trains to move if there was a Pullman car attached to it. The railroads formed the General Managers Association in retaliation, announcing the workers could not dictate hiring, firing or finances as an attempt to end the strike. Deb’s union was not deterred and fought back by claiming if a switchman were fired because he refused to move a Pullman, all employees would resign. The Pullman Strike kept growing and by June 29, fifty thousand men quit their jobs and crowds of people who supported the strike, stopped trains as well.
The federal government finally intervened and Debs was ordered to stop interfering with trains travelling with mail. Under Grover Cleveland, the Army was called to stop the strikers and violence broke out across the railroad. Thirty people were killed as a response to the riot and $80 million worth of damage but the strike ended. The American Railroad Union fizzled and Eugene Debs was sentenced to prison.